Museums Represent The Next Frontier For Digital Signage Solutions

AAV integrators looking for exciting new business opportunities need look no further than their local museum, according to Stampede President & COO Kevin Kelly and Stampede Sr. Relationship Manager Todd Teachenor. Integrating AV into museums and galleries offers many benefits for both integrators and museum directors, including increased customer engagement and operational cost cuts. 

“Museums and galleries need to be engaging, like the ever-evolving world they showcase in,” Kelly said. “Digital displays are extremely beneficial to museums and galleries, since they can educate and promote to a single person or a vast audience at the same time.”

While some visitors may seek a more intimate one-on-one conversation with staff, Kelly says, other visitors may want to explore the museum at their own pace. Introducing technology into this market allows for both options to be employed simultaneously, so museums and galleries can effectively capture guests’ attention.

“For example, the Bishop Museum in Hawaii, the premier place to experience the history, arts and culture of the Hawaiian people, represents an instance in which tradition meets technology,” Kelly explained. “The museum enhances scientific research, educational programs, and extensive collections with interactive displays for guests.”

Digital displays greatly enhance material in areas of science and education. At the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, video and 3D animation provokes curiosity in children and adults alike. In the museum, five floors house eleven permanent exhibit halls containing state-of-the-art video and 3D computer animation. “Visitors can engage in hands-on activities, interactive kiosks and educational games,” Kelly added.

According to Teachenor, AV integration allows museum and gallery directors to save money by updating information through visual displays. “Integrators can work directly with museum directors to create, change and visualize content for digital displays. Ultimately, this ability to easily alter display content saves museums a significant amount of money.”

The Professor Wellbody Exhibit at Pacific Science Center in Seattle, for example, showcases the latest progress in health-related research occurring in the Pacific Northwest. The featured theme and content in ‘The Studio’ changes every six months, offering visitors an opportunity to learn about new advances in health research. To do so, museum curators use interactive displays so that switching content is easy, effective and cost-saving.

The greatest opportunity for AV integrators, concludes Kelly, is to convert traditional static signs to interactive displays. This can be achieved extremely cost-efficiently, while tripling or quadrupling the total of size of a digital signage market.

“Enhancing facilities with AV equipment is not replacing exhibits,” says Kelly. “With the right focus and design creation, museums and galleries will capture more and more tech-savvy generations by focusing on the priceless works of art with their own story to tell.”